The Force Which Binds Us
by elizaward
Summary: A one shot based just after the events of The Last Jedi. Kylo Ren is struggling to keep The First Order alive after allowing the remaining rebels to escape off of Crait, with the help of Rey. Since that day, he and Ren have not experienced a Force connection which he craves and he is desperate to know where Rey and the rebels are. What happens when they connect once again?


Kylo Ren was pacing in his quarters, the same location many of his Force conversations with Rey had taken place. Though that hadn't happened in over a week. The First Order were at a loose end; they had been so close to annihilating the rebels on Crait until his anger became overwhelmed and in conflict with his other emotions surrounding Luke Skywalker and the Jedi. He should have known that Luke wouldn't truly come out of hiding just to face him, his naivety had conquered him in that moment; Rey had failed to physically bring him back, and as Luke reminded her, she is The Last Jedi. She would be the only one able to achieve that, and she was unable. His misunderstanding and failure had pushed the progress The First Order had made back a few steps, critical in this battle for the galaxy.

"I need a sign!" Ren shouted, seemingly to himself, or to someone else who could give him productive answers. He had killed Snoke. He had lost his connection with Rey. He had seemingly let the rebels get away. All he had was General Hux's presence suffocating him, and a bunch of thoughts and feelings which juxtaposed one another. He sat himself down, sighing due to having no response from anyone or anything, and that's when he felt it again. He and Rey hadn't connected properly in over a week, but he had been feeling something every now and again. Something which felt similar to the tethering of their connection within the Force, but not whole and complete, and it quickly released itself and disappeared as though nothing had happened, again. Almost as though Rey, on the other end of the line, was forbidding it from progressing and connecting. "What's happening to me?" Ren thought to himself.

"What are your plans, Supreme Leader?" questioned General Hux, in a pinched manner.

"We will track the remaining rebels down, and we will end them. There is nothing else to do."

"And you're certain that Luke Skywalker is dead?"

"I felt it. Stop questioning me." Ren sharply responded. "He is gone." Ren paused again, hoping his next question wouldn't sound as defeatist as he felt. "What progress has been made?"

"We are going to move the fleet in a different direction; we have allies across the far reaches of the galaxy looking out for any rebel scum. That's the best we have."

"They'll be searching for a new base; there's less of them so they'll be easier to kill, but harder to detect with their fewer ships."

"Yes, Supreme Leader. But we must be cautious. You let them go once before, we cannot underestimate them."

"ENOUGH OF THAT." Ren shouted in response, and in unison manipulated the Force to slowly strangle a doubtful General Hux. "Don't question me again." Ren put his gloved hand down and marched out the room.

He felt angry. He had never felt so angry, but also slightly empty and lost. Since his failure on Crait, he felt more determined than ever to prove his worth; prove his strength and brilliance, not just to himself but to his doubters. To Rey, who had turned her back on him. To Luke, who had betrayed and abandoned him. To his own mother, and his allies.

The First Order ship he was traveling on was conducting a rendezvous with a small star system in its search for the rebels, and that's when he felt that familiar feeling again. Though, this time it felt stronger, and more open. It felt like before. "I can sense your presence." He no longer felt lost. But, Ren had no reply. "I know you're close. I know you can hear me, and sense me." Ren paused, debating whether he should say anything else, in his attempt to reach out to the girl, who he knew was listening, but hiding herself away.

"I have NOTHING to say to you, Ben" a distressed Rey shouted back. Ren's eyes widened, as he tried to make sense of the girl he could see in front of him. She looked slightly rugged as though she had been roughing it up somewhere. She looked tired, but she looked generally well. Where was she? Was she on one of the planets they were searching?

"Stop calling me that. I am not Ben Solo anymore." Discomfort, anger and awkwardness was projecting itself off Rey. "Where are you?" Ren, almost desperately, asked.

"I would never tell you, Ben" she hissed. Then the connection cut off again. Ren continued to stare in to the space where the girl had just been stood.

Back in his quarters, Ren was pacing again.

Where was she? Was she okay? Why was he so concerned about where she was and how she was? Why did she look so tired and distressed? Do the rebels have a base on the moon? Why did she turn him away so quickly? When would he see her again? Were the rebels planning something major?

"We believe we may have detected signs of life on one of the small moons in this star system during our rendezvous earlier today. A high possibility of it being the rebels, Supreme Leader."

"And what else?"

"We are going to send a fleet to conduct closer observations. We will sniff them out, and be rid of them."

"Prepare my ship. I would like to conduct a productive search myself. I won't need support." Ren gave his orders and marched out.

Ren sat comfortably in the cockpit of his jet, as he approached and made sense of the moon potentially harbouring Ren and the rebels. His dark ship and clothing juxtaposed with the very fertile, earthly satellite he was approaching.

As he travelled through the atmosphere of the moon, he felt it again.

"I can sense you Ben." It caught him by surprise. So, she was here. She still looked slightly bedraggled, but was firm in her words.

"This isn't really a good time." He admitted, as he grabbed the controls and prepared to land on a grassy patch in what looked a jungle.

"You should leave, for your own good." Rey was fierce with him, but almost sounded concerned. He was pleased to her again. Someone who had had such a profound impact on him in ways he couldn't quite comprehend.

"I thought you didn't want to talk to me", Ren hissed in response.

"You should leave." The connection broke again, just as he landed his ship.

He looked out the cockpit window and was surrounded by grass, trees, mud and water. Didn't look like the sort of moon to possess any sort of base or supplies. He reported back to General Hux. "If there were signs of life, I think they have been and gone. Don't waste any more resources, I'll alight again soon. We can continue our search again."

"Yes, Supreme Leader. As you wish."

Ren departed the ship and made sense of his surroundings. Trees and grass everywhere. Patches of water and mudholes were splattered over the grass. He walked northward, seeing if he could detect anyone. More trees. More mud. More grass. More water. All he could see was the large familiar shape of The First Order fleet above. No signs of telecommunications. No aerials. Not even signs of animals. Of life. "Where are you? I know you won't be able to hide from me." he said aloud.

"Here." Just like that, Rey was there again, looking confident in her stance. The Force connection was instant. Ren had a small smile in the corner of his mouth upon seeing her.

"So, you're all here?" He wanted information, he needed it.

"I already told you I wouldn't tell you where I am. Where we are." Ren squinted his eyes as he took in all of Rey once again. "Stop that, now. Stop trying to find information out of me."

"Why did you shut me out?" Ren was bold in his questioning, but he needed to say something. He had to know why she took off so suddenly and completely blocked him out. He took a step toward her.

"You did the same to me."

"You shut the door on me. It all ended when you and the scummy rebels left Crait on that garbage Falcon." Rey's surroundings were familiar to his. She was definitely on this moon.

"You tried to kill me! Shoot me down! What do you expect." Rey took a step towards Ren, in frustration, to prove her point.

"You turned me away. I offered you my hand and support, and you turned it away." Ren rapidly replied back, before sinking his head down. They both paused. They were at an impasse. Trying not to let his confusing new-found feelings get the better of him, Ren observed Rey again. "The lightsaber. You took it. You fixed it?" It was holstered around her hips.

"I am a scavenger. I am a nobody who can fix a lightsaber. What more do you expect?"

"Stop clinging on to that. You need to let the past die," remarked Ren, in a condescending manner. "You're nothing. But not to me. I mean that." He believed those words. She did mean something to him. She was a Jedi. She was powerful, she would be of excellent use. But she was more than just a Jedi, he just couldn't comprehend what that exactly was, and what that meant to him.

"Stop telling me what to do, Ben. You should know by now that you cannot tell me what to do." Rey stamped her foot in protest and shook her hands around.

"You're emotional. Special. You've got powers and you need to use them for the right cause. It is your destiny and purpose to support me. You need someone to guide you."

"The right cause is the light, is goodness. I will not support darkness, I cannot support it. I walked away for a reason." They were standing close to one another, closer than they had at the start of this connection. "I still believe you have good in you, Ben. I sensed it. You just won't admit it."

"You're wrong."

"I am not wrong." Rey took a step closer to Ren; they were nearly touching. She could see the nearly healed scars on his face in high definition. She could see the beads of sweat on his forehead, a result of his presence on this humid moon. She could smell his unique smell, as he with her. "Give me your hand. Feel it. Feel the good." Rey presented her hand out, like she did back on Ahch-To, desperately hoping she would receive a hand in response. "Give me your hand!" Ren's eyes widened at her demand. What was she doing to him? He looked in to her kind but slightly teary eyes, and in his innocence, took off his glove, and slowly moved his hand forward, until they touched. Rey felt so real and normal; she was so warm and open and good. A familiar feeling that had once travelled through him and around him. She gave him a sense of belonging. She calmed the anger within him; she was the water to his fire. Their eyes were locked on each other. "I still believe there's hope for you yet, Ben. You just need to let me in. It's not too late."

"The Dark side is strong. Too strong. Too much has happened, too much damage has been done."

"What about Snoke? When you killed him? Why? You did that for a reason."

"My anger got the better of me." Ren was in denial; he wasn't good. He couldn't be good anymore. He didn't kill Snoke because of what he wanted him to do to Rey. He was dark. He killed Snoke to get him out of the way. Snoke was just as much of an enemy as Rey.

"No, your humanity and goodness." She was right, though that would be hard for him to accept. "What about when we fought the Praetorian Guard together? That happened for a reason. You fought them with me for a reason. That happened because there's still good in you, I know there is." Ren, despite feeling increasingly agitated with her comments, felt the pull of Rey. He inched closer to her so their bodies were touching, as well as their hands. Rey's face was angled upwards, gazing in to Ren's. He arched his tall figure down upon her, almost protectively. Their heads met and connected, and affectionately touched each other's, just as both of their hands were now doing with each other's too. Both closed their eyes, as they totally absorbed each other, completely connected in the most intimate way they had ever known. Feeling the Force move within them, between them, around them, through them. A peaceful, comfortable, balanced state neither had felt before.

"Please, Ben." Ren flashed back to when he had said that to her. When he had desperately asked, and she turned him away. Anger built. It continued to build. He quickly became consumed by the anger and could no longer feel merged with Rey. They were separate beings again. He stepped back and his eyes filled with darkness. Rey's eyes widened when she realised Ben Solo had briskly embodied Kylo Ren again. "Don't do this Ben."

"I can't be changed. Stop trying to change me. This is who I am. The sooner you realise it is who I am, the easier it will be for you." The connection between them snapped.

And just like that, Ren was alone again, in the jungle. He and Rey on separate sides of the moon, and separate sides of the fight between light and dark once more.


End file.
